Apple is suing a former employee who stole Apple Watch technology secrets that were later passed on to Oppo. Apple also claims that the former employee's industrial espionage activities were encouraged by Oppo.
The lawsuit was filed in California against Chen Shi, who was a sensor system architect at Apple between January 2020 and June 2025. This gave him access to and insight into new technology being developed for the Apple Watch.
Shi told Apple he wanted to return to China to care for his elderly parents. He did not disclose that he had accepted a job offer at Oppo and now leads the company's sensor system development team based in Shenzhen.
Three days before quitting Apple, Shi downloaded 63 files from an Apple folder onto a USB drive. He then searched the internet for how to erase a MacBook and whether viewing files from a shared drive could be detected by others. A message was later sent by Shi to Oppo saying he would gather as much information as possible.
This year Apple filed a lawsuit against prominent leaker Jon Prosser who revealed iOS 26 secrets and also a former employee who stole Vision Pro secrets before moving to Snap.